As a manager, part of my job is to hire new workers. Shocking, I know.
So I see a fair number of resumes. Assuming the applicants have taken some level of care with their resumes, they will usually include popular buzzwords, which I understand are supposed to stand out to me and make me hire them.
One of those words is “integrity.”
I see it all the time.
“Works with integrity…”
“A person of great integrity…”
“I value honesty, work ethic, integrity…”
I have to say, if as many people actually had integrity as I see in the resumes I receive, the world would be a much better place. Unfortunately (and ironically), most people are lying about having integrity.
I suspect many don’t even know what integrity really is.
I myself couldn’t really pin down a specific definition for integrity before looking it up. My fall back thought was the old adage “I’ll know it when I see it.”
The primary definition I found was that it is the quality of living to a consistent set of values. This definition sets no boundaries for “good” or “evil” values, so the term could technically even be applied to someone whose moral standards are not generally judged to be good, but who is consistent in applying them.
To get the heart of what integrity really means, I feel we must take it a step further and measure that integrity against values society generally determines to be positive.
It is those positive values that occur to me when I think of someone who has integrity. Examples of these attributes would be honesty, authenticity, consistency, reliability, trustworthiness and industry.
To me, someone with integrity makes commitments to do something, and then they do it, on time and with no excuses. They give their word and they keep it.
I found that the underlying concept for all of these qualities is certainty.
Certainty of intent. Certainty of action. Certainty of results.
We humans like certainty, because we don’t like risk. Risk actually has its proper role to play, too, but that’s another blog post for another time. When we’re dealing with others, over whom we naturally have no control, we seek certainty, so that we can make rational and beneficial decisions in our own lives.
Integrity is really the ultimate form of charity. By living a life of integrity, you remove the doubt others have in what you will do. You give them the gift of certainty. They can relax, knowing that you will do what you say you will do. They are safe to make that assumption when they are making their own decisions about what to do.
When I am reviewing resumes for prospective employees, I am looking for someone who will lessen the stress of my job, not increase it. The more integrity my employees have, the less stress I personally have.
So if you want to truly be someone with integrity, the answer is simple: provide certainty to others. In your promises, your words, and your actions. Even if your values don’t match theirs, your consistency in abiding by your values gives others the certainty they need to be better themselves.
And maybe we can finally elevate integrity to more than a fancy buzzword.